Hayasaka Ai Wants to Kiss, Too
by A-Beta Decay
Summary: Kaguya and Shirogane are finally together, and Hayasaka Ai is sick of it! To get away from their couples behavior, she finds unlikely companionship at a local tea house


**Note: this was written right ****after the release of chapter 152, which introduced a bunch of plot threads without explaining them. So this is my take on the Boba shop incident. Definitely deviates from the canon, but this is everything that I wanted to happen. Thank you.**

It finally happened. After months and months of scheming, confusion, and a massive inability to confess their feelings, Kaguya and Shirogane did the impossible. They confessed their feelings to each other. They started actually dating. A truly unprecedented feat in the history of romance comedies. Even if they had to keep it hidden for a while, surely, their lives would be nothing but happiness and love from now on.

Meanwhile, Hayasaka Ai was absolutely miserable.

After the events of Christmas, Kaguya had at once told Hayasaka, her faithful servant, all about the days events. Everything from the kendama to, of course, the kiss. At first, Hayasaka was absolutely elated for the happy couple, having been a large part in how the two managed to finally open up to each other. But Kaguya kept talking. And talking. And talking.

This was Kaguya's first love, after all. It was natural for her to be this excited. She had had her first several kisses, with a boy who returned her feelings, and in many ways who was the perfect counterpart to her. Kaguya's fairy tale story had seemed to reach the happy end. Nobody would get whisked away to the moon this time (1).

However, this quickly turned into a nightmare for Hayasaka. _It was so romantic, Hayasaka. Just the perfect sequence of events. __You should have seen it._

_He took the initiative and kissed me! He kissed me!_

_There's nothing in the world hotter than being kissed! I kissed him at the festival all those months ago, but he finally kissed me!_

These excited ramblings were tolerable for Hayasaka, who took them with an "I'm happy for you, Kaguya-sama." Lying came easy for her, of course. It wasn't always a lie, though. At first, she was genuinely happy for Kaguya and Shirogane. It was rewarding, as all of Hayasaka's efforts had not been wasted. But then...

_And the kiss, Hayasaka. Wow the kiss._

_It was so much better than anything you could even imagine. So much better than our first kiss. Although, his lips still tasted like the food he had just eaten._

_And you would never imaging that the president's lips were so soft. He must use some lip balm._

_They're soft and warm and partially damp. I think I left a little bit of lipstick on him._

_And the way he wrapped his strong arms around me. I felt like I was floating. He even moaned a little. Which is funny when he tasted like fried chicken._

It was all Hayasaka could do to stop from vomiting on the spot. Her tolerance was thrown out the window, and this kind of couples talk was pushing her past the breaking point. It was like this every waking hour of the day. Nights were no reprieve, because she knew the next day would just be more of the same. A vicious, never-ending cycle of details she never needed to know.

As a reprieve, Hayasaka fled to a tea shop a week after Christmas. Kaguya was called away to attend some family matters, while Hayasaka was to maintain the house with the other servants. On this particular day, she managed to get the day off. She walked several blocks away, hoping to get far away from anything that reminded her of Kaguya. Just for a moment.

And so Hayasaka sat alone at the tea shop, enjoying her solitude. She was wearing a fine wool sweater with a stylish beanie. Her winter coat was draped lazily around the back of her chair.

She sighed deeply, and stirred her tea with its straw. She had hoped to be able to enjoy her time away from Kaguya and her particular madness, but Hayasaka's thoughts kept turning back to the kiss._ How much can you really taste what they just ate? If I kiss someone, do I have to worry about my breath now? Are boys' lips really that soft? Do they all taste like chicken?_

These thoughts kept running through her head, until finally Hayasaka threw her hands in her hands in the air and yelled, "Aaahh! It's so unfair!" At once, she realized her outburst had drawn the attention of the other patrons in the cafe. "I'm sorry," she apologized to the store in general, with a bow.

When she brought her head back up, she locked eyes with the one person she had wanted to see least. "Hayasaka-chan?" This girl. Her bright pink hair. Her signature ribbon. The ditzy expression on her face. It was Subject F, AKA Fujiwara Chika. One of the biggest thorns in her side, constantly interfering in Kaguya's grand schemes.

But of course, Fujiwara didn't know any of this. "Oh, hello Secretary Fujiwara-san!" Hayasaka greeted back with an uncharacteristic enthusiasm. Gal mode had activated, her ultimate high school girl camouflage.

Fujiwara smiled and skipped over to where she was seated. She too was wearing a thick sweater, and held a cup of strawberry tea in her hand. With a hop, she seated herself immediately next to Hayasaka and draped her coat over her chair. "Eh? Don't be so formal, we're on break, right?"

"Oh, right."

Fujiwara nodded. "Just call me Chika~!"

Her energy was infectious, but Hayasaka had been raised with a strong sense of propriety. And her and Fujiwara were little more than strangers. They weren't even in the same class. "Um, is Fujiwara-chan okay then?"

Fujiwara pouted, but let it slide. "I guess, I guess." She took a deep breath and looked eagerly at Hayasaka. "~Aaanyway, what's up with you? You sounded upset?"

_Crap_ Hayasaka thought. _She heard that, huh? Well I'll just make up an excuse. Something girly and dumb that's sure to distract her. _After all, lying came easy. Something trivial was easy fodder for someone like Fujiwara.

The servant girl replied, "Well, my best friend just got a boyfriend, and she keeps talking about it, and I feel left out of this whole relationships thing."

There was a pause. Hayasaka's eyes filled with panic. Fujiwara's expression was unreadable. _Crap! __I just let my emotions slip out. To her of all people._

There was a tense silence. Hayasaka couldn't look her in the eyes anymore, embarrassed at her outburst. _It's okay, I'll just apologize and leave_ she reasoned. _The only option left is damage control._

Just has Hayasaka began to form the words, "I'm sorry," Fujiwara interjected. "Man, I know right?"

"Huh?" Hayasaka blinked.

Fujiwara leaned forward excitedly. "Couples are happening all around us, everywhere I go I get reminded about how single I am. Even my older sister has a boyfriend now, and loves to brag about it every chance she gets. In fact, I came here just to get away from her!"

Hayasaka was elated to find such a kindred spirit. Setting aside all past grievances, she grabbed Fujiwara's hands and said, "You understand! It's so annoying to be single these days." Hayasaka couldn't believe she was laying her heart in the open so brazenly. Subconsciously, Hayasaka accepted that she needed to see a therapist, and Fujiwara was the closest thing of the sort at the moment.

Fujiwara nodded. "So true. You almost want to start dating someone just to say that you're in a relationship, so everyone will leave you alone!" Then again, Fujiwara also was willing to tell Hayasaka everything. Maybe it was something in the tea.

There were stars in Hayasaka's eyes. "You get me, Fujiwara-chan. I'm so happy."

"Me too!" The pink-haired girl replied, with matching stars.

The girls shared a laugh, alone. When they calmed down after a minute, they realized something.

"Oh sorry," Hayasaka apologized while blushing. They had still been holding hands. While not an uncommon behavior for young modern girls, the contact had been held for just a little too long for it to be comfortable.

"No worries," Fujiwara replied casually. Hayasaka supposed these kinds of things wouldn't bother someone like her.

Hayasaka cleared her throat and asked, "So, has there ever been someone you liked?"

Fujiwara put a finger to her forehead and said, "Hmmm~ let me think. There was one guy in middle school I thought I liked, but I think it was just because all the other girls liked him, I felt pressured to join in, you know?" There had been boys interested in her, of course. But she was never able to return their feelings and always turned them down. Hayasaka nodded. "What about you? Anyone you've been interested in?"

"Me?" Hayasaka thought. "No, I've always been too busy with work to be interested in anyone." Pretty much all her time was spend running around after Kaguya, or gathering intel for Kaguya, or something else Kaguya related. "I don't think anyone's even been interested in me." She sighed, frustrated. "By this rate, I'll be thirty-five by the time I have my first kiss."

Fujiwara gasped. "Oh! I've never been kissed either!"

"Really?"

She nodded. "Nope never!" Fujiwara laughed, but then hunched over looking defeated. "And probably will never..." she added, dejected.

Hayasaka was quick to turn the mood around. "That's so surprising. You're so cute, I thought the boys would be all over you, you know?"

Compliments were super effective. Fujiwara's spirit rose again. "Oh no no." She waved her hand dismissively. "The closest I've ever come is reading about it in shoujo manga but who knows if that's realistic. (2)

Hayasaka took a long sip of her tea. "Yeah, I bet a kiss is nothing like what they show on TV or manga. They always ignore the more boring parts, like what the lips tasted like." It was at this point that Hayasaka realized that her Gal Mode camouflage had worn off. Funny, she didn't remember even dropping out of gal mode. The conversation had just become natural to her.

"And everyone makes such a big deal about the first kiss. It's so much pressure! Like people look at you funny if you say you've never been kissed. When was I supposed to be kissed? Where did everyone else find the time?"

"I know!" Hayasaka put her head down on the table. "I wish there was some way to just get the kiss out of the way." She sighed, and without realizing it, she looked up at Fujiwara. Specifically, she looked up at her lips.

While Hayasaka may have been too bummed to realize what she was doing, Fujiwara saw it immediately. She looked away and blushed. "U-um, yeah. Getting it out of the way would be nice. It's just one kiss, right? Out of the thousands of kisses you'll give in your life? Ahaha." She was laughing nervously, highly aware of Hayasaka's fixed gaze.

"That's true," Hayasaka replied. She signed internally and thought, _Even if it's boring. Even if I feel nothing, I just want to be kissed._ _Just get it out of the way._

She sighed again, frustrated at her lot in life. Well, on the bright side, at least she wasn't alone. Here in a tea shop, were two girls both lamenting their lack of a first kiss. What could be done?

Suddenly, the obvious answer popped into Hayasaka's head. They should just kiss each other. The blonde girl suddenly shot up, her face going bright red. What a silly idea. Preposterous. Ridiculous. Even if it was a meaningless kiss, she wouldn't kiss just anyone. Especially another girl, since she was straight, at least as far as she knew. A kiss out of the blue was simply out of the question.

Hoping to change the subject and the atmosphere, Hayasaka began. "Hey Fuji-"

Suddenly, Fujiwara yelled, much louder than necessary, "I'm sorry Hayasaka! I don't like you that way! I'm currently straight and we're both girls after all! Plus I just ate food so my breath is bad!" Fujiwara had even bowed in apology, her face bright red.

Hayasaka's blush matched hers. So their thinking was aligned after all. She looked around, suddenly the patrons of the shop were all staring with great interest. Fujiwara noticed this too and yelled. "Excuse me!" And leaving her drink and coat behind, she dashed out of the tea shop.

"Fujiwara-chan!" Hayasaka tried to reach out, but to no avail. Fujiwara was already out the door.

"Ugh!" Hayasaka complained out loud. "I wasn't trying to suggest anything!" Fujiwara was still gone, though. Then she noticed that Fujiwara had left her coat and strawberry tea behind and had run out into the cold with just her sweater. _Ugh how annoying. She's going to catch a cold at this rate. Wait why did she qualify 'currently straight'?_

But Fujiwara was running away, so without giving it much more thought, Hayasaka ran out into the cold with Fujiwara's coat.

As it turns out, she didn't have to run far. Less than a block away, Fujiwara had curled up into a ball next to a window shop. When Hayasaka found her, she was shivering and stuttering to herself "C-c-c-cold."

"Fujiwara you idiot," Hayasaka scolded a few minutes later. Fujiwara was still shivering in her coat and was rubbing her arms furiously to regain body heat. Hayasaka continued, "You could have at least gone into another shop where there's heat!"

"By the I realized I was freezing, I decided to stay still to conserve heat!"

"Such an idiot," Hayasaka's stream continued. "Moving around is how you keep warm."

Fujiwara said nothing, but continued to shiver. Her cheeks were a rosy red, but that was probably because of the cold.

Hayasaka wasn't done yet though. "Why did you even run away into the cold?"

The freezing girl defended, "I thought you were going to ask to kiss me, and I ran away." She found she could not look Hayasaka in the eyes while saying that. Or look at her lips.

Hayasaka looked away too. "Of course I wasn't going to ask that, you dummy."

Fujiwara's eyes were big. "Ohhh. What were you going to ask then?"

The blonde looked around. The two were right in the middle of the sidewalk. "Um, let's go somewhere else to finish talking about this."

With a renewed energy, Fujiwara said, "Okay!"

The two recent acquaintances went to a nearby park and sat down on a bench together. There was a careful amount of space between them, which the neither of them mentioned, but they both agreed upon. Hayasaka cleared her throat and started, "What I was _going_ to say was, would you rather kiss or be kissed? It seems like more and more girls are having to make the first move these days."

"Ohhh" Fujiwara took some time to think. "Hmm, I think I see more girls making the first moves, but I would still rather he initiate. There's something really romantic about the conventional method of dating. A guy that is confident and knows what he's doing sounds right out of a fairy tale." Her cheeks were still bright red. "What about you, Hayasaka-chan?"

"Hmm," she thought. "I think I wouldn't mind making the first move," she decided.

"Oh really?" Fujiwara tilted her head, like a curious puppy.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I get the male confidence thing, but I think there's something really hot about being in charge, and having him be the nervous one, and leading everything, and watching him squirm, like an insect in the summer."

"Oh I get that," Fujiwara started to say. "Wait a second. No I don't. I can't tell if you're being confident or sadistic."

Hayasaka laughed. "Maybe a little of both." Fujiwara joined her in laughing. It had been a long time since Hayasaka had a genuine laugh like this. She didn't realize it, but she had nearly forgotten completely about Kaguya and Shirogane. And neither of girls noticed that in their laughing, they had slide ever so slightly closer to one another. Their legs were almost touching at this point.

When they settled down, Fujiwara confessed. "I don't think I could ever make the first move though. I'm impressed you could."

"Oh haha, well that may just be all talk. I've never actually made any moves." She shrugged and looked at Fujiwara. And Fujiwara looked back at her. They locked gazes with each other for a long time, and didn't shy away for the first time that day. Hayasaka again found herself noticing Fujiwara's lips. The light pink lipstick she was wearing today. The expressive way her lips curved around her mouth in a warm smile. Her adorable button nose.

_For all her energy and loudness, Fujiwara-chan really is a sweet girl._ She found herself thinking. _Wait, were we always this close?_

Fujiwara was surprised at how comfortable this silence was. Hayasaka was a bit of a mystery in many ways. Nobody seemed to know that much about her. It was nice, Fujiwara decided, that she got to know a little bit more about Hayasaka. It was like a secret between the two of them. Maybe it was the cold, but she swore her heart was beating a little faster than usual.

"Hey Hayasaka-chan?" she asked finally, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"C-could I call you by your given name?" (3) She asked, blushing. She didn't ordinarily get this nervous about it, and was confused. She called people by first name all the time. Why was this one different?

Hayasaka looked around the park nervously. They were alone, of course. Everyone else was enjoying the warm comforts of home. She blushed and said, "O-of course, Ch-Chi." She could just barely get the name out.

Fujiwara beamed meanwhile. "Yay! Let's be friends, Ai-chan!" She put her hands on her knees and leaned forward, happy to have a new friend.

"Okay, Chika-chan." And their eyes locked again. But something was different this time. They were closer now. The atmosphere was tense again. They looked at each other, as if understanding something without wanting to say anything.

"Hey Ai-chan," Fujiwara said, almost a whisper.

"Yes, Chika-chan?" Hayasaka responded. Sounding out what Fujiwara's name sounded like.

"You know, I really wouldn't mind if-"

Fujiwara started to say those words. If she had finished it, maybe she would have run away again. Maybe they would have awkwardly laughed it off. Maybe they'd notice the snow start to fall, and the two would part ways again, and not see each other until the next semester started, and go back to being the distant acquaintances they used to be.

But she didn't get to finish those words, because Hayasaka grabbed the collar of Fujiwara's sweater and pressed their lips together.

Suddenly the world was a shining white. The cold, the park bench, and the whole world had disappeared. It was just the two of them now. Held together by their lips.

Fujiwara's eyes shot open, but she didn't pull away. Hayasaka's eyes were shut as she continued the kiss. Fujiwara's mind went blank. This was her first kiss. She was acutely aware of every sensation. The texture. The smell. The taste. Everything she had wanted to know about kisses was given to her.

Fujiwara felt the pressure on her lips. She felt the slight tug of her collar from where Hayasaka was pulling it. She felt the strands of Hayasaka's hair on her own face. The gentle curve of her face.

Hayasaka was afraid to think. For the first time in her life, she did something without meticulous planning. She trusted her feelings and leaped forward. With their lips together she took in every detail. Every feeling and sensation she wrote down in her mind.

They broke apart finally, when they both needed air. They were both breaking heavily. Their heartbeats were pounding. They briefly made eye contact, then quickly looked away from each other. Hayasaka opened her eyes and let go of Fujiwara's sweater. They scooted apart by a few inches on the bench. They briefly made eye contact, then quickly looked away from each other.

Neither one said anything. When the snow began to fall on their heads, neither one of them felt cold. They stayed that way for several agonizing minutes.

"Um," Fujiwara started, but was unsure of how to continue.

"Um," Hayasaka echoed, similarly unsure.

Fujiwara looked away, at a cloud far off into the distance. "Um," she repeated. "You know, I, um, I didn't mind that."

Hayasaka was looked straight down at her lap. "Yeah, um. Me neither." There was another long pause. The two of them were again lost in attempting to process what had just occurred.

Fujiwara suddenly stood up and stammered, "Um, b-but of course, I-I didn't feel anything, I'm still straight of course!" She was yelling at this point.

Hayasaka was quick to reply. "Of course! I didn't feel anything either! It was just a kiss nothing more!" She yelled back.

"And now with our first kiss out of the way, we can have many more without worry!"

"Right! The pressure is lifted. We can have hundreds more kisses!"

Fujiwara suddenly turned away from Hayasaka. "Anyway! Hey look at that! It's snowing! And wow it's gotten late! I should get back home bye!" She without turning around, she dashed towards the entrance to the park, leaving Hayasaka behind.

Hayasaka stayed on that bench for a long while. Her head fell into her lap. _Oh my god. _Her thoughts were a typhoon. _Did I just do that? What just happened? Oh my god. I could curl up into a ball and die and be reborn as a slug!_

Fujiwara wasn't faring much better. As she made it out of the park, she made a hard right and ran into the wall of the park gate. Her nose made a harsh impact with the cold marble. "Ugh!" she grunted at the pain. When she rubbed her nose with her hand, she couldn't help but put a finger to her lips. She led it around the full line of her lips, where Hayasaka's had been not too long ago. Were her lips always this cold? Fujiwara also noticed her sweater collar was crumpled from where Hayasaka had forcibly grabbed. It was such an aggressive move. Confident and bold.

She found herself blushing furiously, harder than she'd ever blushed before. Of course, that was probably just the snow. Still, as she ran back to her house, she couldn't help but smile the entire way back.

Hayasaka lifted her head, begrudgingly accepting the absurdity of the situation. Just like Fujiwara, she touched her lips with her hand, comparing the sensation to the feeling of Fujiwara's lips. "Wow," she whispered softly to herself. She remembered something she said to Fujiwara before the latter ran away. "I didn't feel anything either," she had said. Of course, lies came easy to Hayasaka.

The blonde servant girl slumped down on the cold park bench, still barely feeling the cold. _Soft and warm and partially_ damp, she thought. _Just as Kaguya had said._

Hayasaka laughed to herself. _She tasted like strawberry tea. Lovely. Much better than fried chicken._

**Thank you, I hope you enjoyed. Please leave me a review of what you thought.**

**T/N:**

**1\. Reference to the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (aka the Tale of Princess Kaguya) which the series is based off of.**

**2\. Shoujo manga are manga typically aimed at a female audience. Like Ouran High School Host Club or Fruits Basket. **

**3\. First name basis is a big deal in Japan**


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